Jeter inducted into
Baseball Hall of Fame
BY JOE PANTORNO
A sudden splash of rain
could not dampen Derek
Jeter’s perfect moment in
Cooperstown as he was offi -
cially inducted into the Baseball
Hall of Fame on Wednesday
afternoon.
Equally spot-on were
the fi rst words upon the legendary
shortstop’s plaque:
“Heartbeat of a Yankees dynasty.”
Five World Series titles,
3,465 hits, iconic plays, countless
postseason records, and
20 years of becoming an indelible
name within Yankees
lore.
“There’s only one thing
in my life that I wanted to
be, that was shortstop for the
New York Yankees,” Jeter
said on Sept. 8. “And now I’ll
be a Yankee forever.”
All in all, a most wonderful
setting to once again provide
another sliver of normalcy —
one that was long overdue —
to get baseball back on track
after a most challenging of
two years.
Since the last induction
ceremony two years ago in
July of 2019, baseball lost 10
Hall of Famers: Tom Seaver,
Whitey Ford, Hank Aaron,
Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Joe
Morgan, Al Kaline, Phil
Niekro, Don Sutton, and
Tommy Lasorda.
“The last two years have
been extraordinarily sad for
the baseball world,” Hall of
Fame chairman Jane Forbes
Clark said. “The Hall of Fame
family has lost 10 of our members
— men who embodied the
qualities of character, integrity,
sportsmanship, and who
loved being here in Cooperstown
with you and their Hall
of Fame family.”
“It’s really hard to imagine
that we lost 10 members
of the Hall of Fame family,
the baseball family,” former
Yankees manager Joe Torre
said. “Guys who were not
only legends of the game but
very, very special individuals.
They were dear friends …
guys we all had the utmost respect
for.”
It was with that backdrop
that Jeter — the greatest
Yankee of the 21st century —
along with Larry Walker, Ted
Yankees legend Derek Jeter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021.
Photo REUTERS/Mike Segar
Simmons, and famed labor
leader Marvin Miller, gained
entry into the hallowed halls
of Cooperstown.
Jeter came up one vote
short of being unanimously
elected into the Hall as a member
of the Class of 2020, the
only class honored Wednesday
as the Baseball Writers Association
of America (BBWAA)
opted not to elect any player
this year.
“Thank you to the baseball
writers, all but one of you, who
voted for me,” Jeter slyly said.
He received the most boisterous
and lengthy ovation of
the afternoon, overcome by the
appreciation of a strong traveling
contingent of Yankees fans.
“I forgot how good that
feels,” he said of the fans’ reception.
“I wanted to prove to
you I belong, you kept pushing
me to prove it over and over
again.“I was most comfortable
on the fi eld, playing in Yankee
Stadium in front of you. I
wanted you to count on me …
And it was one of the greatest
responsibilities of my life.
Upon the thousands of supporters
including Jeter’s family,
NBA legend Michael Jordan,
and Knicks all-timer
Patrick Ewing were the living
members of the Hall of Fame
who sat behind him — a domineering
presence throughout
his career.
“It’s more than a game in
a sense,” Jeter said when recounting
two unforgettable
meetings with Jackie Robinson’s
widow, Rachel, and one of
the greatest of all-time, Hank
Aaron. “The Hall of Fame family
is watching and I wanted
their approval. I wanted Rachel
Robinson to be proud, I
wanted to make Hank Aaron
proud, and all of you behind
me.”
Jeter’s baseball journey is
far from over as he continues
the seemingly impossible task
of rebuilding the Miami Marlins
as the team’s owner.
“I was and am going to
prove doubters wrong,” Jeter
said. “That still drives me today.”
They count on you...
So count on us to
keep you going.
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